The Rise: A Post Covenant War Story: Mission Two

Paarthurnax & Fivak wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Laboratory

Paarthurnax stopped what he was doing.

"No he did not. Is there something you are not telling me?"

A few seconds of silence passed by.

"F'alas, tell me?

He looked to the Huragok, and saw him bringing something over. It was the hologram of the mysterious symbols.

"Thank you friend"

He now awaited a reply from F'alas. He knew he was hiding something now.

F'alas decided to tell Paarthurnax.. "I traded with the insurgents. Remember the Demon back in the war? We needed his shields, so, i err.., bargained some Plasma for the Demons shields. It worked! I...have...copies in my barracks!" F'alas knew he must now head back to the laboratory to show Paarthurnax. "Turn the ship around!" he yelled.

Paarthurnax shook his head.

"No, what did I tell you? Do not abandon you mission"

He placed his Nano-Pad on the table and placed the Hologram on top of it, sinking it into the screen.

"Finish your mission. What you have done is not relevant right now, we will discuss this later"

Paarthurnax again shook his head.

Paarthurnax & Fivak wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Laboratory

Paarthurnax shook his head.

"No, what did I tell you? Do not abandon you mission"

He placed his Nano-Pad on the table and placed the Hologram on top of it, sinking it into the screen.

"Finish your mission. What you have done is not relevant right now, we will discuss this later"

Paarthurnax again shook his head.

"Y..e...s....sir!" F'alas said, trembling with fear. Luckily, the Phantom pilot overheard. What did they do to Heretics!? Do they kill them!? Why was his father a Heretic? But for now, he had a mission!

"Thank you Higher Than Most. You have done us a great honor"

He studied the Hologram with some depth as the symbol enlarged and became 3D. It was incredibly hard to make anything out, but the human's leader would be interested in this indefinately. He looked to the Huragok.

"Thank you, honestly thank you"

Paarthurnax waved and turned around before exiting the Laboratory. He was happy with his findings, and with what the fine Huragok had done for him. On the other hand there was F'alas. The one who he valued a lot, but committed heresy, that he knew not of until recently. He now debated whether to tell the Shipmaster and have him exiled or to spare him. A tough decision indeed.

The Phantom touched down in a canyon miles away from the Data Hive. That way, he could gather more intel and wouldn't be noticed landing. With only a few Kig-Yar and Sangheili Minors, he'd have to be selective. His shields lacked recharging equipment. Something that the trade had caused. He planned a strategy: The Kig-Yar, with their speed, should clear out the few outposts in the area and establish a watch point. Then, when they had taken out the watch posts, the Minors and him could move into the Data Hive and begin to download it's strategy, which a Yanme'e was here to help with. The Shipmaster couldn't spare a Huragok for him, the only one was tied up in the lab on something. He decided to put his plan into action. Gripping his Beam Rifle, he went into sniping position and watched....BINGO! An Insurgent had been sloppy, and left a fuel can next to the vehicle depot. "Take that out and that will clear the way for the Kig-Yar" he thought. He sniped the fuel can-which lit the Warthog on fire, traveled to a Propane tank, exploded, and finally, the depot was on fire. And the gunshots of Kig-Yar downing unsuspecting Insurgents let him know phase one was complete. The Kig-Yar flashed an infrared light only their species could see to indicate, "It's clear!". Before initiating Phase two, he needed rest. He closed his eyes......

What a wonderful place. He looked around and the mess hall was packed with people, all eating the fantastic food they had to offer. He walked over to the entrance to the food section. He entered and his mouth opened wide with his helmet by his side. There were over twenty different selections of meat on offer, fantastic. He grabbed a plate and grabbed three piles of meat.
Paarthurnax moved around to the other side where beetle juice and worms were on offer. He was not a fan of the worms, but the beetle juice was excellent. He grabbed two of those.

"I love those"

Paarthurnax grabbed some shade-crabs and zap-jellies, his favourite. His meal was pretty big now, and would fill him up for a while. He walked over to the nearest table and chairs and sat down, before tucking into his glorious meal. The taste was so delicious, the texture and the taste went excellently together. The best meal ever.

Paarthurnax & Fivak wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Laboratory

What a wonderful place. He looked around and the mess hall was packed with people, all eating the fantastic food they had to offer. He walked over to the entrance to the food section. He entered and his mouth opened wide with his helmet by his side. There were over twenty different selections of meat on offer, fantastic. He grabbed a plate and grabbed three piles of meat.
Paarthurnax moved around to the other side where beetle juice and worms were on offer. He was not a fan of the worms, but the beetle juice was excellent. He grabbed two of those.

"I love those"

Paarthurnax grabbed some shade-crabs and zap-jellies, his favourite. His meal was pretty big now, and would fill him up for a while. He walked over to the nearest table and chairs and sat down, before tucking into his glorious meal. The taste was so delicious, the texture and the taste went excellently together. The best meal ever.

F'alas bit into the sour ration pack he had been issued. It was bitter, but nutritious. They had evaded guards and were now inside the Data Hive, but at the cost of 3 guarding Kig-Yar. They had gathered extreme intel on their tactics by accessing the battle net with the Yanme'e. But, they still didn't have all the schematics they needed. Unt- F'alas looked surprised as the Minor near him fell, bleeding from wounds. He shot back with his Plasma Rifle, trying to aim in the dark Hive. He did a hand gesture forward, and signaled the Yanme'e to fly to the main terminal above them while he distracted the guards. Killing one, the bullets bounced off his shields. The other Minor threw a Plasma Grenade, sticking it to the Insurgent's face. It blew and hurt his eardrums. "No time for pain," F'alas thought. The Yanme'e returned with barely any intel, unable to penetrate their system. "But it's enough" F'alas thought. Then, a sharp pain rose in his shoulder, blood pooling out, bullets clanged his armor, ruining it. A Kig-Yar leapt out and blocked the bullets, falling back to the Shadow parked outside. F'alas hopped in, the remaining Kig-Yar and Sangheili coming in. The Yanme'e had already flown to the Shadow, and was piloting it away, as a Sangheili already onboard fired the cannon. "Misson-sort of accomplished". F'alas then reluctantly went to the storage and found his vault. He punched in the code and found it. His father's Heretic armor. Slipping the Officer armor off, F'alas tugged the Heretic armor on, and walked out into the troop bay. He let an Unggoy drug him into sleep as he operated on the wounds. "When i get back....Shade Crabs...." F'alas dreamed and drifted into deep sleep.

Delicious. He went back to the food section and placed his tray and plate into the mess pile ready for cleaning up. He grabbed his helmet and placed it back on his face. He headed to the exit. His belly felt gross, he had ate too much, with that huge pile of meat. However it remained delicious with it melting into his mouth, and it still settling in his belly.

"Ergh!"

He stopped for a few seconds, he realised that he had just berped and he laughed to himself. A funny moment indeed.

There was a big flash as F'alas woke up. "Where am i?" he asked. "Well, if it isn't MR. Split-jaw. How nice of you to drop by!" the human said, and walked out of the room. F'alas sat there thinking, "Oh no! I don't want to be on the MIA list. Someone will come....I hope." F'alas looked up at the ceiling, until a mechanical arm came down and grabbed his stomach, drugged him, and said, "Well, time for a nice sleep....while performing some tests!" the eccentric ball of flying metal said.

Paarthurnax entered the Hangar Bay and saw his Banshee in there. It was in bad condition. He cringed at the sight. He ordered a few Huragok to take a look at it, to try and fix it.

"See what you can do"

The Huragoks made no fuss, they just came over and had a look. Turns out it could be repaired, but it would take time. So he left the Huragoks to it. He walked over to the long hallway leading to the elevator that would lead to the bridge. He thought he would check up on F'alas.

"F'alas, how is your mission going?"

Paarthurnax waited a few seconds, nothing but static filled the communication equipment. He continued walking however.

"F'alas, respond that's an order?"

Again nothing but static. He now picked up his pace, power walking to the elevator. He flicked his helmet a few times, to ensure it was not his device. As he thought, it was not. One final time.

"F'alas, do you read me?"

Nothing at all. He now started to worry. He knew that something bad had happened. He now began running to the elevator, as it was still some distance away.

"More incoming!"

=Ammunition blasts the air as more and more hostiles fill the area=

They won't let up

=It had been hours of fighting. Him and these stationed troops=
=We were losing this fight. We had been pushed back to a town previous to the one the attack began in=

=I am standing in a building. My S2 parts the air as another bullet leaves the barrel=

Garth wrote:

=i look around and see the wire near Hawk=
Let me take a look and see if it's bomb or a sensor.

Aegir, "Maybe. Let's search the place."

=I reach for my last mag=

Fuck...

=I exchange the clips and aim down=
=Comms=

Sit rep!

=One person breaks through=

"We arent doing so well! We're on our last mags!"

=Great news... In the middle of all of this blood and chaos we wont be able to get through this=

F'alas woke up, drowsy. "Welcome back!" the ball of metal said to him. "I hope your ready, i can't wait to observe your species!" the zealous ball said. F'alas thought about tricking it. "Wouldn't you like to see how i put on clothing?" F'alas asked calmly. "Oh lovely!" the monitor said, deactivating his security belt. F'alas slowly walked over, the monitor watching. He slipped on his Heretic armor after finding it in a crate in the room. Also there was a captured Energy Sword. He gripped it and slapped it to his belt. F'alas asked the monitor, "Want to see my species walk to the hanger bay?" "Oh yes! I'll escort you, in case of nosy guards." the monitor eccentrically replied. F'alas followed close by as the monitor lead him there. Only then did he realize the buzzing of comms. "May i see to the restrooms?" F'alas asked the monitor. "Yes, take your time!" it replied. F'alas walked in and opened the channel,
"Paarthurnax-keep it down im in their base" F'alas whispered.

Paarthurnax stopped, he raised his hands to his head and rubbed his brow before placing his helmet back on. He rested against the wall.

"I thought...I thought I had lost you too"

Paarthurnax continued on, he was now heavily pissed.

"What happened, you have been out for quite some time. Do you need help?"

Paarthurnax & Fivak wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Hallway

Paarthurnax stopped, he raised his hands to his head and rubbed his brow before placing his helmet back on. He rested against the wall.

"I thought...I thought I had lost you too"

Paarthurnax continued on, he was now heavily pissed.

"What happened, you have been out for quite some time. Do you need help?"

"No, just don't shoot a Pelican emitting a my signal, i'll need to steal one," F'alas said and cut the channel. He continued walking toward the hanger with the monitor.

Paarthurnax shook his head.

"The damn boy will get an unexpected surprise one day"

He continued to the Command Bridge. He thought that he might as well report his findings to the Shipmaster, considering that he had come all this way. These images made no sense to him, or the Huragok, but to the humans it would. Hopefully. Then he slowed, thinking about F'alas. What had happened to Vee, and the others, could have happened to him. He was not quite sure on how he would react if that happened. He tried to cover it up, this thought upset him. He knew that in time F'alas would learn. He was smart.

Paarthurnax neared the Command Bridge, finally. He had power walked all the way. He was pretty exhausted at this point.

Paarthurnax & Fivak wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Hallway

Paarthurnax shook his head.

"The damn boy will get an unexpected surprise one day"

He continued to the Command Bridge. He thought that he might as well report his findings to the Shipmaster, considering that he had come all this way. These images made no sense to him, or the Huragok, but to the humans it would. Hopefully. Then he slowed, thinking about F'alas. What had happened to Vee, and the others, could have happened to him. He was not quite sure on how he would react if that happened. He tried to cover it up, this thought upset him. He knew that in time F'alas would learn. He was smart.

Paarthurnax neared the Command Bridge, finally. He had power walked all the way. He was pretty exhausted at this point.

F'alas had to slow down....the world swirled around him.......he fell with a thud. "Are you alright?" asked the monitor. F'alas said "Just need some rest," and drifted to sleep. Luckily, F'alas thought, that they were in the Laboratory and only the monitor was allowed in.

N wrote:

Garth wrote:

=i look around and see the wire near Hawk=
Let me take a look and see if it's bomb or a sensor.

Aegir, "Maybe. Let's search the place."

Copy that, sir.

=I remember what Longhornn taught me=

Always look for least obvious signs first, then look for the most obvious last...

=I start my search looking looking through cracks and spaces to see of anything was amiss=

=Comms=

Hold out for as long as you can!

=I fire another shot and it rips into the target's flesh. Breaking his skull and killing him=
=I continue to fire, but to no avail. With each shot took. My survival was lowered=

=I hear the others begin to die off. Slowly. Painfully. Less and less gunfire could be heard=

...Spartans...never...die...

=i go over to the tripwire and start tracing it back into a wall. I take off my helmet and press my shaking ear against it, listening for anything=
Whatever it is, I think it's in here. At least part of it.

This place is old. I wonder how long it's been since this place has been cleaned.
=moving past the desk.=
"We'll need to split up."

Closer and closer he got. Just a few more steps, and there we are. Finally in the Command Bridge. He looks around and see's a lot of people working. He looked straight forward and saw the Shipmaster on his awesome floating chair. He smiled and walked forward panting due to tiredness.
The Shipmaster had not noticed his arrival, so he walked up.

"Shipmaster Fivak"

The Shipmaster slowly turned around in his awesome chair and stared at the Officer. Paarthurnax bowed down before the Shipmaster.

"Countless times you have proved me wrong. You are like no other Sangheili, I have ever seen. Your courage and honor is unparalleled in every corner of the galaxy. You have my thanks dearest one"

"It could not be done without those lost, Shipmaster"

"Yes, and those shall be remembered. For they gave their lives to fight for this, and they died knowing what was right"

Paarthurnax lifted his head up and removed his helmet as tears rolled down his face.

N wrote:

This place is old. I wonder how long it's been since this place has been cleaned.
=moving past the desk.=
"We'll need to split up."

Aye, sir.

=I start looking around again, kneeling occasionally to check for any clues=

They are just missing in action...

=I sigh and attach the S2=
=I look out the window and watch as enemy troops swarm the streets=

"Sweep the area. There is one more out there"

=I jump out the window from the second floor. Dive rolling as I do as to not cause myself much physical harm=
=I take cover into a nearby bush. One had seen me and made his way over=

=As he began looking I came out and grabbed him. I took my knife and entered it into his throat=

Die...

=I formulate a plan as I sit there with the body=

F'alas got up and began walking slowly, still dazed. He ignored the monitor's rambling and contacted Paarthurnax
"Paarthurnax? You haven't told the Shipmaster about our little secret?"

Paarthurnax tried to brush away his tears, and tried to put on a firm voice, it was not convincing.

"I...I have not, nor do I intend to"

Paarthurnax looked to the Shipmaster.

"I am sorry I could not save them, Shipmaster"

"It was not your fault, it never was. Coincidence or fate, who knows"

Silence broke between both of them before Paarthurnax spoke about the hologram.

"Once our tasks are complete, I will take the information to the human commander. He will find use of them Shipmaster"

"What of our brothers, where are they?"

"They are on the human ship. When I return, I wish to pay private tribute. They will then be returned for proper burial Shipmaster"

"As you wish"

Paarthurnax walked up to the Shipmaster as he called him up, he was not sure what to expect.

Once F'alas reached the hanger, he almost passed out. He was relieved that his secret was safe, for now. He began the long flight back, emitting the Sangheili code. No other ships were there, "Strange," F'alas thought.

Paarthurnax was the first to speak.

"With those that fought valiently at rest, what of my new squad?"

"Yes I have been thinking, you do need replacements. I will leave that up to you. Your new force Zealot and I have been talking, you know whats best for our operations, hence you will be able to select a few warriors yourself, that will fill your team"

"That would be a great honor Shipmaster, thank you!"

"Indeed so. So go, and prepare your warriors. Plenty are waiting in the armory, go there and select your warriors"

Paarthurnax nodded and turned around, he began walking back to the elevator. This was his chance to shine. He now considered what sort of warriors he wanted. Stealthy; good swordsmen; good marksmen and who know how to follow orders. He could not wait to meet the new Zealot and his to be warriors.

=i nodded to Aegir=
Hold on, sir. Lemme check this thing out.

=i quickly poked a hole in the wall with my finger, and used my hand to widen it up to get a better look inside. The wire went up into the wall, past what I could see=
Good news, I don't think it's a bomb. At least not a direct one. Bad news, it leads to something else, and hell if I know what that is.

G-man wrote:

=i nodded to Aegir=
Hold on, sir. Lemme check this thing out.

=i quickly poked a hole in the wall with my finger, and used my hand to widen it up to get a better look inside. The wire went up into the wall, past what I could see=
Good news, I don't think it's a bomb. At least not a direct one. Bad news, it leads to something else, and hell if I know what that is.

=I sigh and groan=

Teriffic...we have another problem

Want me to take a peek, sir?

"Go check it out. I'm going to walk through the rest of the building, see if I can find anything."

Twilight Sparkle wrote:

"Go check it out. I'm going to walk through the rest of the building, see if I can find anything."

Roger that sir.

=I begin to follow the wire to where it should end=

Rubble, what exactly should I be looking for?

=i reply to Hawk=
Heck if I know. This is a tripwire. Could easily be set to a bomb, or a sensor, or even a bucket of water above a door. Just be careful.

=i started to follow him, making sure he didn't get into too much trouble=

G-man wrote:

=i reply to Hawk=
Heck if I know. This is a tripwire. Could easily be set to a bomb, or a sensor, or even a bucket of water above a door. Just be careful.

=i started to follow him, making sure he didn't get into too much trouble=

Roger that Rubble. I'll look for the end of the line.

=I continue to look, looking for anything remotely suspicious=

=i looked around, keeping my SMG ready. I pulled out a breaching charge to steady my hands=
So, what do you think of this place?

G-man wrote:

=i looked around, keeping my SMG ready. I pulled out a breaching charge to steady my hands=
So, what do you think of this place?

I think they're doing more than filitering and transporting water.

=I continue to look=

But I also have a feeling we're being watched.

Finally, the elevator at last. The walk was too long, they needed to shorten it. Indefinitely. He was now relaxing. He had made his mind up for what kind of warriors he was going to pick. He just needed to know their personalities, to ensure he could work with them. An easy task if anything.

"Paarthurnax, once you have picked your warriors. Assemble in the hangar. There will be a Phantom there, ready to take you to your destination"

"Shipmaster, where are we going?"

"You will be undergoing A final task. All will be explained by your Zealot. It will be a just task"

"Understood, Shipmaster"

One final task, how exciting. A chance for him to test his warriors.

Least I'm not the only one.

=i stop and open up a desk, closing it as I find nothing=

Wonder what they were actually doing.

I swing my pod around and hold it above the open bay doors. After typing in a few more things into the console I press the launch button. The pod lurches but doesn't drop.

What in the....

I press it again with no response. The console shuts down in front of me.

G-man wrote:

Least I'm not the only one.

=i stop and open up a desk, closing it as I find nothing=

Wonder what they were actually doing.

I'm seeing a lot of components that you would see used in military weapons manufacturing, not water processing.

=Get to the end of the line and see a military grade silent alarm=

Awwwww nuts...they know we're here

Well Rubble, I have good news and bad news.

=I lay on my bed, in my room (Where else was my bed going to be?), and stared at the ceiling. I was thinking. And well, I more or less realised I'd been useless on the previous operations... All I did was shoot a gun. There wasn't much to do with Chemical Bombs lately. Nothing at all.=

Paarthurnax exited the elevator and proceeded down the final hallway. Too much time was wasting. He entered a steady jog, all the way up to a fully propelled run. He was going extremely fast now, others looking. They were unsure on what he was doing. He did not care.
The armory was just a short distance away now. He had made good progress, Sangheili being really fast.



'Interesting, very interesting'

The curious Huragok thought to himself as he stared at the 3D projection of the mysterious objects and symbols. He was still baffled by their curious markings, and shapes. He had to go with them, back to the humans. He tuned into Paarthurnax' thoughts, and found that he was going to the armory, his next destination. He finished up with what he was doing, and quickly made his way to the armory.

=I relieved the corpse of it's weapons and hopped out when it was clear=
=I had managed to gain a rifle and pistol=

=I could here them searching every corner. Trapped in a sea of enemies=
=The radar was going crazy. Red covered it except in some parts=

=I sigh and duck around the back of the building and ran for it. Occaisonally stopping behind another building to check my status=

Bad news first. I'll need a pick me up.

F'alas felt the drug wear off at the worst time, his depth perception returning. He snapped the control down, he had thought the ship was still far away, but he was inside the hanger. The Pelican flew down, smashed into a docked Seraph, and the right-wing clipped a Spirit. The Pelican then slid through a hanger shield and finally came to rest in another hanger. F'alas felt needles in his mandibles, and something sharp crushing his legs. "Hurry rescue teams!" he thought. He fought to fight the blackout.

G-man wrote:

Bad news first. I'll need a pick me up.

Bad news:We tripped a silent alarm, so theyknow we're here. Good news: Its not a bomb that was rigged to the wire.

=I get out my SMG and prepare for the worst=

=i sigh=
Oh, joy. Wondered why they haven't attacked us yet.

G-man wrote:

=i sigh=
Oh, joy. Wondered why they haven't attacked us yet.

They're probably readying a response team. But they sure didn't count on Spartans.

=I ready my SMG=

Spartans with explosives.

=i chuckle=
Should we notify Aegir?